North Korea Claims That It Tested the "H-Bomb of Justice"

Today North Korea conducted what it is calling a "successful H-bomb" test. The test took place Wednesday morning local time in a region where the regime had conducted previous underground bomb tests. The exact explosive yield of the bomb is currently unknown.

The world was first tipped off to the test when seismographs around the world recorded an earthquake in North Korea with a magnitude of 5.1 on the Richter scale, suggesting a large explosion on the scale of a nuclear weapon. The time of detonation (exactly 10 a.m. North Korean time) the epicenter being near Punggye-ri, North Korea's main nuclear test site, and the earthquake depth of 0 kilometers (most earthquakes occur several kilometers underneath the Earth's surface) all suggested a man-made explanation.

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Later in the day, the state-run Korea Central News Agency announced that an "H-bomb of justice" had been successfully tested at the same time the earthquake was detected. KNCA says an H-bomb is necessary for North Korea to fend off the United States and other "ferocious wolves" threatening the state. KCNA stated that the test was conducted with the "indigenous wisdom, technology and efforts" of North Korea. It also seemed to admit that the bomb was a "smaller H-bomb."

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There's some question as to what North Korea means by an "H-bomb." H (hydrogen) bombs, also called staged thermonuclear bombs, are generally defined as ordinary nuclear weapons that ignite a second-stage hydrogen fusion reaction, producing a dramatically more powerful weapon. Ordinary nuclear weapons are generally measured in the kilotons, or thousands of tons of TNT in explosive power; H-bombs are are generally measured in megatons, or millions of tons of TNT.

But "hydrogen bomb" may also refer to a boosted fission weapon. In that case, the explosive power of a nuclear weapon is boosted with tritium and deuterium gas—heavy hydrogen isotopes. This design doesn't produce anywhere near the power of a real H-bomb, but technically it could be described as an H-bomb.

The difference between the two is not only in explosive power but complexity. True H-bombs are extremely complicated in design and are thought to be above the technical ability of North Korean scientists and engineers. Boosted H-bombs, on the other hand, are easier to design.

Pyongyang first announced it had H-bombs in early January. Back then, North Korean nuclear weapons expert Jeffrey Lewis told Popular Mechanics, "A staged thermonuclear weapon would seem to be stretch for North Korea, but after three tests I wouldn't be surprised to see them experiment with fusion fuels like deuterium or lithium to boost the yield of their bombs."

What happens next? Arms control experts worldwide say that the test may vent radioactivity above ground and into the air currents across Asia. Specialized aircraft in the form of U.S. Air Force WC-135 "Constant Phoenix" aircraft—likely already based at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa since January—will be flying off the North Korean coastline, attempting to gather microscopic, residual radioactive gas and debris from the tesr to learn more about the nature of the bomb and the nuclear materials used.

North Korea went out of its way to describe the nuclear test in as "green" terms as possible, stating the test was, "conducted in a safe and perfect manner had no adverse impact on the ecological environment." Good to know, Kim Jong-un.